His Thoughts

His Thoughts

Dr. Verghese Kurien will always be remembered as a man with strong will and self-belief.

Here are few of his thoughts.

India's place in the sun would come from the partnership between wisdom of its rural people and skill of its professionals

The milk of India is produced by millions of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers'. It is on their behalf and in their name that i accept this high honour.

India needs to show an honest face, a kind face, a human face - and not an arrogant face as the powerful nations of today (do).
What you need is good management with farmer power. Good management gives this power the right direction and thrust. Nothing can stop the farmers then. Least of all the MNCs.

Milk is the only commodity which has to be collected twice a day, every day of the year. Thus, cooperatives are the only logical system for the dairy industry. About 85% of the industry in the US, Denmark and Australia is run by cooperatives. No other system will work for milk.
Who told you there is one Amul? There are more than 175 Amuls across various districts (in Gujarat).

True development is not the development of land, or of cows; it is the development of men and women.

Innovation cannot be mandated or forced on people; it is everywhere, a function of the quality of the people and the environment. We need to have enough skilled people working in a self- actuating environment to produce innovation

I am like a cat, throw me wherever you want to, I will still stand on my feet Eight hours for dairy, eight hours for family and eight hours for sleep

My philosophy in life is to do as much good as I can to those who are less fortunate, but I would like to live my life as a common man

The time has come for massive rural development in our country. The task is daunting and the opposing is great, but I believe that it is also the greatest opportunity that has ever been presented to a society such as ours.

I trust, in a humble way - dairying is such as instrument of change: an instrument not only of technical change, but also of economic and social change. It is to such instruments that we must look to build the India tomorrow.

All the tools are with us, in our Hands, to effect the transformation of our predominantly rural society. Never has an elite had such an opportunity.

In every successful grassroots cooperative, members trust their leaders. Trust is the most cost-effective way to manage cooperatives.

If we can again create the environment, the opportunity, and the education, our villages will provide a new generation of leaders who will not only rebuild our cooperative movement, but who will help us to build a truly great nation.

This process of modernization cannot merely demonstrate to producers the application of such techniques as artificial insemination, improved animal feeding etc. On the contrary, it inevitably shows the producers that they can use modern science and technology to achieve the larger objectives of their own lives.

To be quite honest, service to our nation's farmers was not the career I had envisioned for myself. But somehow, a series of events swept me along and put me in a certain place at a certain time when I had to choose between one option and another.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel's vision has always been a source of great inspiration. He knew that our rural people could never become really free until they were liberated from the exploitation of moneylenders. Sardar Patel believed that the way to address these problems was to build rural institutions that would serve the farmers' economic interests. He urged dairy farmers to organize milk cooperatives, which would give them control over the resources they generated and assigned Morarji Desai, his Deputy, to coordinate this effort.

I was fortunate that I enjoyed the support of all the governments that came to power. I have been and continue to be, highly critical of our bureaucracy. Fortunately for us, within our bureaucracy, there are a number of people who are dedicated, patriotic and able.

I am in the business of empowerment. Milk is just a tool in that.

I am supposed to exploit the consumer; and I will (exploit them), but not in a way that will create resentment. I have to milk the consumer. And milk them I will, but gently.